Door-operated alarm device for mail-boxes.



NA-.839,131 PATENTEDDEG. 25, 190s.I

A E.. E u'. HAHN. DOUE UPEEATED ALARM DEVICE EOEd MAIL BOXES.

APPLIGATION IAILED APE.30,1906.

' attain,

.UNITED STATHS PATENT oFFIcn FRANK HAHN ANDJoHN HAHN, or DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

Doon-QPERATED ALARM DEVICE Eon MAIL-BOXES.l

' speeieation of Letters Patent.

` AppiieasenieiApril 30,1906. serrano. 314,560;

Patented nee. 25, 1906.

.To a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK HAHN and JOHN HAHN, citizens of the United States, residing at Decatur, in the county of Macon and tate of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Operated Alarm Devices for Mail-Boxes; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, "'llenable others skilledin the art tothem.

It is a further and important object of our invention to provide a peculiar form of ymail-` box in connection with our simple and compact alarm' mechanism, whereby they may be readily installed and removed at will by even the most unskilled persons without injurin the house to which our device may be attac ed.

With these objects in view and others appearing as the specification proceeds our invention comprehends the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts of a device characterized by our invention, as will be hereinafter fully detailed in the specification, summed up in the claims, and illustrated in the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of lour improved form of mail-box and alarm mechanism installed for use. Fig. 2 is a perspective detail of our mail-box, the lid or cover thereof being raised. Fig. 3 is a detail rear elevation of the plate carrying thealarm mechanism. Fi 4 is a sid'e elevation thereof with n the bellt ereon.

' through the deeejemb 1,- with e A51`0 to'bring the clap curved shield a5 depending from the top of the front side a of the box, so that mail deposited in the box may not be removed by unauthorized persons, and with a hinged door a1, normally locked, whereby access may be had to the mail deposited in the box.

To the rear side of Athe ydoor-jamb 5, and consequently within the house and in alinement with the mail-box lid c3, is secured, as by screws 52, a preferably annular ring or plate B, vrovided with a cross-piecel 53, throughw 'ch the square inner end of the rock-shaft a1 projects, as shown clearly in Figs. 3 and 4.

zecured on the square inner end of the rock-shaft c1k isa rack-plate 51, meshing with a small pinion 55, fast on a shaft 56,v journaled in the plate or cross-piece 53. The shaft 56 has also Afast thereon a large toothed wheel 57, meshing with a pinion 58, fast on a shaft 59,' journaled in the cross-piece 53. On the outer end of the shaft 59 is secured a cross-piece .51", pivotally carrying at each end a clapper 511.

Rising from the edges of plate or ring B are` standards 512, converging and meeting at their tops. A semicircular'or elliptical bellplate 513 or cup is disposed over the standards 512, as shown Fig. 4, and suitably secured thereon, as by a set-screw 511, as seen in Fig. 5.

The operation is obvious: The postman in the act of lifting the lid ai to deposit mail in the box willcause therock-shaft a1, fast on ythe lid a3, to rock the rack-plate 51, -turning the small pinion in mesh therewith, which in turn rotates the shaft, and consequently the large toothed wheel 57, fast thereon, which will rotate the pinion 58 in mesh with the wheel 57, thus rotating the shaft 51, fast on the pinion 58, and swinging the cross-piece ers 511 into contact with the bell 513. A hal -turn of the lid a3 of the mail-box will resulty in revolving the clappers at least six or seven times into contact with the bell, thus insuring that the audible alarm will be heard.

One advantage of ou'rconstruction is that to instal the same no marring or injuring of the door-j amb or other-part of the house will result, as only a small hole for the rock-shaft a4 will have to be bored or drilled through the door-j amb 5, and `as the mail-box is constructed of very light thin material A(preferably tin) only very small screws are 'necessary to hold the same against the door-j amb. Another important advantage of our con- TOO struction is that the mail-box and the alarm mechanism are exceedingly easy of installation and removal when desired. All that is necessary to be done when it is desired to remove the mail-box and the alarm device is to unscreW the screws b2 and 614, which will relase the bell and the alarm mechanism, and then to unscrevv the screws securing the mailbox A to the door-jamb. The operation of installation is of course the reverse of the operation just described. The simplicity of this arrangement and operation is apparent.

Having thus fully described our invention, what We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In dooroperated alarm devices for mail-boxes, a mail-box adapted to be secured to the j amb of a door, and having a hinged cover or lid, a rock-shaft fast on the cover and adapted to extend through the doorj amb, a plate adapted to be secured to the inside of the door-j'amb and through which the end of the rock-shaft projects, said plate being formed with standards rising therefrom and converging and meeting at their tops, a curved bell plate or cup secured to the standards, and mechanism carried by the plate and connected to the end of the rock-shaft, whereby movement of the rock-shaft brings said mechanism into contact with the bellcup to cause an audible si nal.

2. In door-operated a arm devices for mail-boxes, a mail-box adapted to be secured to the jamb of a door, and having a hinged cover or lid, a rock-shaft fast on the cover and adapted to extend through the doorjamb, a ring adapted to bc secured to the inside of the door-jamb and formed with a cross-piece through which the end of the rock-shaft projects, a curved bell plate or cup secured to the ring, and mechanism earried by the cross-piece of the ring and connected to the end of the rock-shaft, whereby Amovement of the rock-shaft brings said mechanism into contact with the bell-cup to cause an audible signal.

3. In door-operated alarm devices for inail-boxes, a mail-box adapted to be secured to the jamb of a door, and having a hinged cover or lid, a rock-shaft fast on the cover and adapted to extend through the deerjamb, a ring adapted to be secured to the inside of the door-jamb and provided with a cross-piece and formed with standards er up- Ward-extending arms, a curved bell plate or cup secured to the standards, and mechanism carried by the cross-piece of the ring and connected to the end of the rock-shaft, whereby movement of the rock-shaft brings sai'l mechanism into contact with the bell-cup to cause an audible signal.

In testimony whereof we ailix our signatures in the presence of two subscribing wit nesses.

FRANK HAHN. JOHN HAHN.

Witnesses:

EMERSON SANDERS, CnAs. M. Boncnnns. 

